Both sides celebrate decline in abortions

Guttmacher results on Roe anniversary

Feb 26, 2008

As abortion-rights supporters and opponents last month marked the 35th anniversary of the Supreme Court decision that legalized the procedure nationwide, new statistics showed that fewer women are choosing abortion.

The study, released just days before the January 22 anniversary of the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, showed that the U.S. abortion rate is at its lowest in more than 30 years. It also showed that the overall number of abortions nationwide is down more than 25 percent from its peak in 1990.

Thousands of anti-abortion protesters marched through cold temperatures down the National Mall and up Capitol Hill to the Supreme Court building to mark the anniversary. There they were met by abortion-rights supporters, who celebrated the court’s ruling that state governments cannot impose undue burdens on a woman’s right to terminate her pregnancy.